Russian President Dmitry Medvedev ordered a halt to military operations in Georgia on Tuesday but Tbilisi cast doubt on the announcement, saying Moscow was still bombing towns and villages. The announcement coincided with the visit of French president Nicolas Sarkozy to Moscow on an EU peace mission and seemed intended to help international efforts to negotiate a lasting truce. Sarkozy said Russia and Georgia, who have been fighting since last Thursday, had not yet agreed a peace deal, adding: “We don't yet have peace. But we have a provisional cessation of hostilities. And everyone should be aware that this is considerable progress. There is still much work to be done....What we want is to secure the best result.” Using language redolent of his mentor Vladimir Putin, Medvedev criticized Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Tuesday as a “lunatic.” Saakashvili had promised voters he would win back South Ossetia and a second separatist area, Abkhazia. “You know, lunatics' difference from other people is that when they smell blood it is very difficult to stop them. So you have to use surgery,” Medvedev told a news conference. Georgians saw it differently, with a huge crowd outside the parliament building in Tbilisi hailing Saakashvili as a hero for defending his country against aggression from Moscow. Speakers denounced Russia as the crowd chanted: “Georgia, Georgia!” Posters held up by demonstrators showed a photograph of Putin with the caption: “Wanted: Crimes against humanity in the world.”
